Henchmen
by Kitten-girl
Summary: (Oops, I screwed up with the sum before...)Ozzie's still the lord of the Mystics, and Janus, Slash and Flea are going to their first mission.


Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in the story, so don't kill me

Disclaimer: I own none of the characters in the story, so don't kill me.

Sum: It's Magus, flea and Slash's first mission. How will they handle it?

Notes: Hmm, it has been a while since I wrote a fic... So it might suck, I hope not. But my grammar is horrible, completely horrible! Well, that's because I'm not a native English speaker, so it's justified.

The story takes place about 12/13/14 years before the game, so the characters will act a little differently than the ones in the game. 

Henchmen 

"Flea."

The Mystic's eyes slightly opened, only to be closed again of her tiredness.

"Fleeaaa...."

Flea turned around.

"Flea!" 

Flea immediately tried to sit, but was disturbed by her sleeping bag.

"Ough..." She quickly got out of the sleeping bag, with a slight help from her magic. She looked up to see Janus's grinning face. She moaned and rolled her eyes.

"You just had to do that, didn't you" She said angrily. Janus nodded, and his grin widened.

"If I knew it was you, I wouldn't have bothered to wake up for you, you little brat."

Janus didn't seem offended by the statement, he just chuckled. Flea rolled her eyes again. Janus rarely took anything seriously.

"Slash told me to wake you up." Janus chuckled even more. "He's acting all high n' mighty, but methinks he is as anxious as you, if not more."

"And you Janus? Aren't YOU anxious? It is our first mission after all."

Janus shrugged. 

"I guess... But it's nothing serious, nothing to worry about... Just delivering a message to some Naga-ettes. Nothing to freak about. Unless..." He looked at Flea with a sheepish grin. "You're afraid of some badevil soldiers..."

Flea didn't respond, there was no use to. Even at his relatively young age, Janus was one arrogant brat...

Janus exited the tent, soon followed by Flea. Slash, the older of the three was waiting outside, his arms crossed. 

_What a pitiful little bunch we are... Flea thought, looking at the two... "Men"._

Flash was the oldest of the trio. He was about 23 years old in human counting, and 50 years old in Mystic counting. He was a skilled swordsman, which made him an object for the female Mystics' affection, even though he was horribly ugly, with a scaly blue skin and face that looked like something from hell, at least at Flea's opinion. 

There was her, Flea, the second oldest in the bunch. In human counting she was 19 years old, and she have lost track of her age in the complex Mystic counting. She was a magician, and a pretty good one either. Lord Ozzie always sensed a great potential in her, she thought proudly. 

_And I am very pretty as well... She added. Even in human scales (Which were yucky) She was considered beautiful, with a big pretty eyes, a pinkish skin and a long red hair, tied in a bread._

And there was Janus. He was the youngest of the group, only 16 years old. He was Ozzie's favorite. Only Ozzie believed his unrealistic stories about the kingdom of Zeal (A very famous faery tale, some crazy people believed it was true) and this beast, Lavos. Flea never understood why Ozzie liked him so much. He was _Human after all... And humans were the mystics' enemies. But Flea had to admit: He was handsome indeed... He had a shoulder length blue hair, and pointy ears, much like herself. He wasn't tall, and not very muscular, but he wasn't fat or scrawny either. But Flea could never understand why he had to come with them... His magic was pretty weak._

"Flea! Are you ready?" Slash's voice has waked her from her daydreaming.

"Yeah, yeah... I was just... Away, I guess" She muttered. Janus grinned.

"She was dreaming about someone, no doubt" Janus's grin grew wider. "Who's the unlucky victim this time Flea?" 

"Shut up you twerp!" Flea hissed.

Slash scowled. "Can we get back to the subject please?" He said sternly.

Flea rolled her eyes.

"Well, now that we are all _here," Slash glared at Flea and continued. "I will explain our mission. Ozzie gave us a letter to deliver to the Naga-ettes that resides in a cathedral, not far from Guardia castle. This mission will be easy if we manage to sneak away from the nuns, understood?"_

Janus raised his hand instantly as if he was in school.

"Well, sir Slash, how can a bunch of nuns hurt us?" he said in an almost mocking tune. Slash frowned.

"They can call the knights, who will slay us with ease. Understood?"

Janus nodded, and grinned sheepishly. Flea sneered.

"That's Janus's special way of saying 'yes'." 

Janus started to laugh, and Slash rolled his eyes. Janus never seemed to take anything seriously. But Flea knew that this was all just a charade. Janus used his so-called humor to hide his real feeling... And maybe it was a good thing? A not so serious, annoying boy was probably better than a dark, suicidal man who only thinks of revenge.

Flea shook her head. She was daydreaming, and that was not good, especially in a mission.

"Are we all ready?" Slash asked, but there was no real need to. Janus was already wearing his light leather armor, holding his favorite weapon, the crossbow. Slash already told him hundredths of times to get a new weapon, one with a _blade,__ but Janus refused to listen. In Slash's opinion, only cowards use crossbows. _

Flea was also wearing a leather armor, accompanied with her favorite cape. She had no use of weapons, since her magic was strong enough. And Slash-- Well, Slash was always ready for a fight. 

The trio took their things, and headed away from the camp. At some point Flea turned around and hurled a fire spell at it. No need to carry extra weight.

The trio traveled down the road to Guardia forest, avoiding any travelers. Slash was at the lead, a frown on his face and his hand on his sword in case of an attack, something that is not likely to happen. Flea and Janus were trailing after him, trying to keep up the pace. Janus was humming a tune that she couldn't recognize.

After few hours of walking, they reached Guardia forest. A relatively small forest, lurking with Mystics and young knights. Suddenly Slash stopped at his tracks, Janus, who was daydreaming walked straight into him. 

"Ouch! What was that for?" Janus moaned. Slash ignored him.

"We are about to enter Guardia forest." 

Flea crossed her hands. __

_What a jerk!_

"We knew that Slash. Why did you have to stop?" She asked.

"As you two know, some dangerous knights are lurking in the forest. We should trek as silently as possible, and if we hear even the slightest of noises... We hide. Understood?"

"Yes, oh mighty leader" Janus said mockingly.

Flea rolled her eyes yet again. Her eyes would fall from their slits eventually if she'll continue doing that, she thought. Slash ignored them, as he always does. 

After a while of constant walking, Janus picked up a noise. 

"Hey, listen" He whispered, his eyes widening. "It sounds like... Like a human!"

Flea started looking around for a cover, and Slash beat his lip. He couldn't let their mission go down like that!

"There," He pointed shakingly at a nearby bush. The trio quickly dove into that bush and froze. Just like Janus said, a human came from the path. He looked around him, but didn't find the trio. His small mean human eyes narrowed.

"Weird... I was sure I heard something..." He shrugged. Than another human voice was heard.

"GLENN!" 

The visible green haired human turned around at once.

"I'm coming Cyrus, i just thought i heard something" He ran back and disappeared into the forest. Now the trio could sigh with relief and leave their hide.

"Fshew" Flea sighed, "This was close..."

The rest of their journey went smoothly, just until they reached the cathedral.

Both Janus and Slash were staring into the cleared road in front of the cathedral, a shortcut that didn't go through to woods. Flea was holding her head with her hands.

"You're telling me we could go in the short, easy way all this time?" She moaned.

"Yup." Janus sighed.

"Well, we have to learn through our mistakes," Slash said. "There's no time for that however, we must sneak into the cathedral's back rooms now."

"And how are we supposed to do that?" Janus asked.

Flea smirked at Janus, who backed away one step.

"I don't like that smile..." He mumbled. Flea paid no attention.

"You will distract the nuns." Janus gulped.

"B...but how...?" He already regretted for asking.

"_Think Janus, use your not-so-bright human brain... You are a young attractive human male, my dear..."_

Janus was now pale as snow, his eyes opened wide. 

"B...but... I... They are nuns! They don't care about such a things... And maybe they do...And that's...Worst!"

Flea chuckled at the sight of the petrified Janus trying to make excuses.

"Shut up Janus, and go talk to them! We'll sneak at the back door and deliver the message."

"B...but..."

"I want to hear no 'buts'!"

Janus moaned, knowing he has no chance against her, and walked to the cathedral's semi opened door. He sent one last pleading look at Flea, but she just shook her hand, and Janus entered.

The inside of the cathedral was just like Janus imagined it-a domed roof, large paintings on the walls, an organ, a shrine, and chanting nuns, who didn't seem to notice him. 

"Umm, excuse me?" 

The nuns were all staring at him now. 

"I'm, umm, Janus and I'd like to know... umm, where is the bathroom?" He smiled anxiously. The nuns just narrowed their eyes, and Janus bit his lip.

_Oh great! I'm now in a room full with humans, and hostile if it's not enough!_

Then one of the older nuns smiled, to his relief.

"The bathroom? Outside, in a separate cabin." She said, and the nuns continued chanting. Janus could see Slash and Flea hiding at the corner of the room, waiting for him to distract the nurses.

_I can't fail them... Ozzie will be mad..._

Janus coughed again, and the nuns were all looking at his direction yet again.

"Err, are you always chanting like this? I mean, don't you get a sore throat like that?" The nuns just stared at him. Janus was more anxious than ever.

_Oh great! No they'll call the knights and I'm as good as dead!_

Then, one nun began to chuckle, and soon erupted into a laughter, followed by the rest of the nuns. Slash and Flea sneaked without making a sound, and disappeared behind one of the columns.

"I wasn't kidding..." Janus muttered.

"Oh, young man, it has been a while since we heard a joke in here... Come! Sit! Pray with us!"

Janus wiped some sweat off his forehead. The nuns wanted him to pray, but he didn't know how. The Mystics had no religion that he knew of, and so did the Zealians. Now Janus was really anxious to get away from the cathedral and the nuns, but he had to wait for Flea and Slash to deliver the message, and then distract the crazy nuns again. 

Meanwhile, Flea and Slash were wandering around the corridors at the basement of the cathedral., flipping switches as they went by them. 

"Hmpf, i never knew the cathedral was so big..." Slash muttered.

"Where are those damn Nagas anyway??" Flea complained. Suddenly she heard something, and quickly spun around to meet a creature that was half a woman, half a snake. The creature chuckled.

"Well well! What brings you here, fellow Mystics?" it hissed, chuckling again. Flea took out the letter and handed it to the Naga solemnly.

"We deliver this message from the great Ozzie." She said. 

"Ozzie? How nice! Just let me open it..." The Naga fiddled with the letter with her clawed hands, trying to open it. After two miserable tries she succeeded.

"Ah! Here it is..." Suddenly the Naga shrieked, forcing Flea and Slash to cover their ears. Soon, a whole herd of Nagas came bouncing through the corridors, and assembled around the main Naga, pleading she would read the letter to them. 

The main Naga raised her hand. "SILENCE!" Soon the Nagas were as quiet as a grave.

"Good. Now let's see...

Dear Nagas. I'm holding a party at my castle on Friday. Wanna come?" The main Naga read, and the rest of the Nagas burst out laughing. 

"A party??" The main Naga said with tears in her eyes, caused by the laughing. "Tell Ozzie that (haha) we can't come. HAHAHA! That pervert!" In any other case Slash would aim his sword at the Naga, demanding an apology, but now he was just staring at the Nagas, dumbfounded. THAT was their mission?! To deliver a pointless message to those crazy Nagas?!

Wait.

An idea suddenly popped into his head. 

_What if Ozzie was testing us...?_

_...Nahhh, he's to stupid. I have no idea how he got to the throne of the mystics anyway... That lazy bum. All he does is eat, sleep, and flee from battles. The coward. I should take his place and..._

"Hey!" The now angry Naga called, waking him from his daydreaming.

"Take this letter to your dear Ozzie." She handed him a letter. Slash scowled and nodded.

"C'mon Flea, let's take Janus and get away." He mumbled. Flea nodded, and they were on their way.

Janus, who was sitting on one of the benches, saw Flea and Slash hiding behind the column, a grim expression on their faces.

_Uh-oh, something must have went wrong... Janus though. Now he had to distract the nuns again so his two comrades could sneak past them._

"Hey." He said. The nuns faced him yet again, but there were no hostile glares anymore.

"Err, have you heard the joke about the nuns who played golf?" He smiled. Some of the nuns raised their eyebrows; the others just smiled waited for him to tell. 

"Well, two nuns were playing golf, and one of them missed and then she said, damn! I missed, and then the other one said, if you curse god will punish you. Then that nun missed again and said, damn, I missed! And then a lightning hit the second nun, and then god said, damn, I missed!" Janus looked at the nuns with a forces smile and a hopeful expression, but they didn't laugh. They didn't even chuckle, smile... Janus's smile melted. 

"Hey, girls... Take it easy... 'Twas a joke, you know..."

The nuns were still glaring at him. At the corner of his eye Janus saw Slash and Flea sneaking across the room. He hoped the nuns were too centered on him to notice, but unfortunately, one nun saw the two.

"MYSTICS!!!" she screeched. Before Janus could do anything, three nuns grabbed him from behind, the rest running around the room screaming, or hiding behind the shrine.

"Look at his ears!" One of the nuns that grabbed him removed some hair that covered his ears. "Their like the Mystics'!"

Janus was now as pale as snow. The nuns will call the knights and...

"There's no reason to fear, ladies." Flea's voice echoed across the room. Janus looked at her pleadingly, and she just grinned at him.

"We are not _really Mystics, we're just... Actors." And with these words Flea wiped her cheek, casting a small illusion that made her look like she was wiping pink make up. She casted a bigger illusion, making Slash look like he was putting off a mask of his own face. The nuns relaxed a little as Janus seemed to be removing the colored wax from the top of his ears._

"Well, actors," The main nun said. "I am sorry for doubting your identity. This will not happen again."

The three nuns that held Janus let him go, and he rubbed his arms.

"Whoa, you're stronger than you look." He commented before Flea grabbed his arm and stormed out of the cathedral.

**Some points:**

Yeah, I know Magus is using a scythe. But in my fic he used a crossbow before that, so, blah.

And yes, I know everyone was out of character, but it's 12-14 more or less years before the game, they can change in such a time period.

And in many fics I saw that Flea and Slash were Janus's teachers. Well, in my fic they're trainees like him, so deal with it.

And i know the characters overplayed a little... As I said, it has been a while since I wrote a fic.

If I'll get some good reviews I'll do a sequel or something, (Oh, the horror!) But I probably won't. (Sigh...)


End file.
